Feb 16, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
An Egyptian point of view from Dr. Osama Al-Ghazali Harb, editor in chief of the Egyptian quarterly Al-Siyassa Al-Dawliya (thanks, James Taranto):
What we, as Arabs, should truly feel humiliated about are the prevailing political and social conditions in the Arab world - especially in Iraq--which allowed someone such as Saddam Hussein to become vice president in 1968--and then, through an unparalleled bloody and conspiratorial path, to assume the presidency in 1979.
We should feel humiliated that Saddam was able to remain in power until 2003, and to single-handedly initiate a number of catastrophic policies that transformed Iraq, relatively rich in natural, human, and financial resources, into the poorest, most debt-ridden country in the Arab world, not to mention the hundreds of thousands killed and displaced.
We should feel humiliated that some of our intellectuals, supposedly the representatives of our nations' consciences and the defenders of their liberty and dignity, not only dealt with Saddam, but also supported him. Finally, we should feel humiliated that Saddam Hussein's fall came at the hands of the U.S. and Britain, to protect their own interests. The Arabs should have been the ones to bring down Saddam, in defense of their own dignity and their own true interests.
Feb 14, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
From Yahoo News:
"JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A prominent Israeli rabbi has proposed hanging bags of pig fat in buses to deter Muslim suicide bombers who may want to avoid contact with an 'unclean' animal, an Israeli official said on Thursday."
Hat Tip: B. Harburg-Thomson
Feb 13, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Really, what good is the FCC anyway? As Mark Steyn comments:
When I was asked what I thought of the huge boob exposed in prime time, I thought it was a reference to Al Sharpton not knowing what the Federal Reserve was in that candidates' debate....
...I enjoy [breasts] when they turn up on BBC costume dramas and when you're driving through France enjoying the topography and they pop up on billboards so you can enjoy the topoffgraphy. There's something to be said for the relaxed Continental approach to nudity. There's nothing to be said for the hollow joyless mechanical pop culture trash of the Super Bowl show: It was sleazy and worthless when it was fully clothed.
Nonetheless, I don't see why we need a government investigation. Unlike Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, the existence of Janet Jackson's breast is not in doubt. We know where it is, there have been verified sightings; we're not relying on faulty intelligence and grainy satellite imagery....
[W]hat will be accomplished by a government investigation? Eventually, the FCC will issue a ruling and, if we're lucky, it won't be quite as ridiculous as their pronouncement on Bono's recent use of the f-word, which the FCC deemed permissible because he was using it adjectivally. If the point of these FCC investigations is to maintain standards of decency, then clearly they've been a colossal flop.
Feb 12, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
From Cox and Forkum:
The Tehran Times recently published a John Kerry campaign letter: Kerry Says He Will Repair Damage If He Wins Election. (Via Little Green Footballs) Quoting the letter:It is in the urgent interests of the people of the United States to restore our country's credibility in the eyes of the world. America needs the kind of leadership that will repair alliances with countries on every continent that have been so damaged in the past few years, as well as build new friendships and overcome tensions with others.
We are convinced that John Kerry is the candidate best qualified to meet this challenge. Senator Kerry has the diplomatic skill and temperament as well as a lifetime of accomplishments in field of international affairs. He believes that collaboration with other countries is crucial to efforts to win the war on terror and make America safer.
The Tehran Times did not included the list of the letter's signers, which can be seen at the Kerry Web site: Letter for Democrats Abroad. While there may some doubt as to who sent what to whom and why, what is clear is that the theocratic Iranian regime approved of the letter and its publication. And considering Kerry's approach to foreign policy, there's also no doubt that the mullahs would prefer Kerry over George "Axis of Evil" Bush.
In a 1970 interview, Kerry referred to himself as an "internationalist" and said, "I'd like to see our troops dispersed through the world only at the directive of the United Nations."
Kerry has since softened his language a bit, but his position today appears to be essentially the same. In his December 2003 speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, Kerry claimed that he "will not cede our security to any nation or institution." Yet throughout the speech he repeatedly invokes the United Nations and advocates "collective action," "international sanction," a "new era of alliances," and rejoining the "community of nations." In contrast, he criticizes President Bush for being "unilateral," "imperial" and "intoxicated" with American power.
Ultimately he declares: "I will treat the United Nations as a full partner -- not only in the war on terror, but in combating other common enemies like AIDS and global poverty."
A "full partner"? So much for not ceding our security to any nation or institution.
In regard to Iran, a country even our appeasing State Department ranks as the world's worst sponsor of terrorism, Kerry said:[T]he Bush Administration stubbornly refuses to conduct a realistic, non-confrontational policy with Iran even where that may be possible. As President, I will be prepared early-on to explore areas of mutual interest with Iran, just as I was prepared to normalize relations with Vietnam a decade ago.
Lest we forget what kind of regime Kerry proposes being "non-confrontational" with, WorldNetDaily reports: Iran hosting global terrorist conference.Just as the U.S. State Department approves wider contact with Iran and as members of Congress begin planning the first official trips in 25 years, Tehran is sponsoring a 10-day conference of major terrorist organization beginning [this] week.
The purpose of the conference is to discuss anti-U.S. strategy. Among the groups headed to Iran to participate are: Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and al-Qaida allies Ansar Al Islam.
Yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of Iran's Khomeinist revolution. A short history of its reign of terror is contained in Amir Taheri's op-ed, Tehran Tyranny's 25th. (Via 'Free Iran' News)Khomeinism, a form of fascism, was, and remains, a consistent political doctrine. [...] [Today's ruling] Khomeinists sincerely believe that a woman is half as valuable as a man and that she should cover her hair because it emanates rays that drive men wild with lust. They genuinely believe that men who shave their beards will go to hell. They regard the West as a civilization in decline, and its values, including human rights and democracy, as decadent.
Their strategic goal is to destroy Western-dominated civilization and replace it with a better, Islamic, one. They dream of wiping Israel off the map and, one day, hoisting their flag of faith atop the White House.
For the Iranian theocracy and the terrorists it supports, the choice for the next American president is no contest: John "Non-Confrontational" Kerry.Feb 12, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
It's known that North Korea has concentration camps. Now comes testimony that it also has gas chambers. Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe reports:
"I witnessed a whole family being tested on suffocating gas and dying in the gas chamber. The parents, a son, and a daughter." The speaker is Kwon Hyuk, a former North Korean intelligence agent and a one-time administrator at Camp 22, the country's largest concentration camp.
His testimony was heard on a television documentary that aired last week on the BBC. "The parents were vomiting and dying, but till the very last moment they tried to save the kids by doing mouth-to-mouth breathing."
Like other communist officials, Kwon was not bothered by what he saw.
"I felt that they throroughly deserved such a death. Because all of us were led to believe that all the bad things that were happening to North Korea were their fault. . . . Under the society and the regime I was in at the time, I only felt that they were the enemies. So I felt no sympathy or pity for them at all."
Soon Ok-lee, who spent seven years in another North Korean camp, described the use of prisoners as guinea pigs for biochemical weapons.
"An officer ordered me to select 50 healthy female prisoners," she testified. "One of the guards handed me a basket full of soaked cabbage, told me not to eat it, but to give it to the 50 women. I gave them out and heard a scream. . . . They were all screaming and vomiting blood. All who ate the cabbage leaves started violently vomiting blood and screaming with pain. It was hell. In less than 20 minutes, they were dead."
Feb 11, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Interesting commentary on NYC City Council's grandstanding against the Patriot Act:
Obfuscating or outright lying about what the Patriot Act actually contains is no accident: It's part of the active, willing ignorance on the part of the opponents of the Bush administration to raise up a bogeyman figure. What's so silly about the council's contribution to this vacuous monologue is how seriously they take themselves while being decidedly unserious about honestly characterizing the Patriot Act.
The Tehran Times recently published a John Kerry campaign letter: